Matthew Upson has rejoined West Ham in a coaching capacity to help out with the Academy youngsters.

The former Hammers captain was spotted last night in West Ham training gear at Colchester with a notepad under his arm. He is understood to have a part time role with the Academy.

Upson has kept close contact with the club and was allowed to train with the Under 23’s in January this earlier year.

Upson joined West Ham as a player in January 2007 from Birmingham City after being sold by their then managing director Karren Brady. He agreed a four-and-a-half-year contract with West Ham with them paying Birmingham £6m rising to £7.5m with add ons

Birmingham City’s manager Steve Bruce later claimed that he did not want to sell Upson, but was forced to do so by Brady. Upson suffered a calf injury less than 30 minutes into his West Ham United debut, a 1–0 defeat against Aston Villa. He then lasted just 11 minutes of his comeback match before coming off injured against Spurs in a 4–3 loss at the Boleyn Ground in March 2007.

Following West Ham’s relegation from the Premier League in May 2011, new manager Sam Allardyce confirmed that Upson would leave the club when his contract expired.

He made 145 appearances in a West Ham shirt.

The news comes one day after Jack Collison confirmed his return to West Ham coaching the Under 14’s and Under 16’s. Collison posted on social media “ITS OFFICIAL!!!… So excited to say that I will be returning to West Ham as Lead U14/u16 Coach… At the age of 16 I arrived at the club as a boy with a dream… At 25 I left a man, having lived that dream and experienced every emotion you could ever imagine… At 28, I will now give my all to help the next generation with the same dream I had”

Funny one was Matty… was deffo’ never captain material but I thought he was a fine defender… I mean he got his England caps whilst with us… and even managed 2 goals v the Krauts… but there was something deffo a bit blancmange about him…

Former England centre-back Upson, 27, joined the Hammers on transfer deadline day in a deal that could be worth up to £7.5million.

“The truth is I feel as if we have been mugged,” Brady claimed in her column in The Sun. “With Upson in the team the manager believed we had a better chance of promotion to the Premier League than without him.”

Upson’s sale was met with dismay by City manager Steve Bruce – who has since reaffirmed his commitment to the club – and Brady has insisted cashing in on the player was the last thing on the board’s mind.

Brady added: “I’m the money person at St Andrew’s and my own frustration at the conduct that cost us our England international centre-back is intensified by what we stand to lose.

“We knew it was serious when Upson actually phoned (City co-owner) David Sullivan on holiday in Barbados and told him of his desire to leave.

“We tried offering him a compromise, stay with the club to the end of the season and if you still want to go we’ll sell you – even though we knew it could mean getting less than half that was on the table now.

“But nothing other than capitulation was good enough. Upson made it clear that he saw his future away from us, stating that even if we got promoted he would not consider signing a new contract at Birmingham.

“It wasn’t even as if West Ham were a major club. Had Chelsea pursued their interest in the player, I think most of us here would have said ‘goodbye’ and wished him well. That went for Jermaine Pennant when he left last summer for Liverpool.

My recollection is that after we were relegated at Wigan he didn't fancy playing the last game at home v Sunderland like a proper captain would so didn't bother.We were a shambles and lost 3-0 and didn't want to risk bringing Dylan Tombides off the bench for what would have been his only Premier league game.Bit of a contrast in HEART between those two.

My memory is of a crucial relegation six-pointer against Blackburn. One captain played like a hero, throwing himself in front of everything the opposition could muster. That was Christopher Samba. The other captain waved to the bench after 15 minutes and signalled he couldn't carry on. No-one had seen an injury. He then jogged off, straight down the tunnel, leaving his team mates to fight on. That was Matthew Upson. I don't give a shit if he's a good coach, I would rather not have him anywhere near the club again.

I remember us turning his head when he was at Birmingham and pushing for a move. Brady was furious and I remember her writing a horrible, vitriolic piece in the papers about him being a traitor to Birmingham and only coming to us for the money.

Birmingham were leading the chanpionship at the time and we were flirting with relegation from the premiership (for a fucking change). She said 'I look forward to waving at Upson as we go up and him and West Ham go down'.

When Gold, Sullivan and Brady took over at West Ham I saw Upson looking like he was about to have a panic attack. A very good defender but a poor captain- especially after Lucas Neill showed us all what being a captain was all about.

I guess they have it in them to act like grown-ups and put their troubles behind them. Who'd have thought it?

Glad to see him back as he was a technically gifted defender and I hope the kids can learn a lot from him.